Sins of Thy Father
by Gotham's Princess
Summary: A series of vingettes about the children of the Justice League. Chapter Two: Helena
1. Ellie

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters of _Justice League Unlmited_. I do however own some claim to the original characters mentioned.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Title: **Sins of Thy Fathers  
**Chapter 1: **Ellie Wayne  
**Author: **Gotham's Princess  
**Summary:** A series of vingettes about the children of the Justice League.  
**Rating:** K+/PG  
**Genre:** Drama/Angst  
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When Ellie was little, her mother used to regale her with bedtimes stories of knights and princesses, ancient warriors, and of a little trust and pixie dust. But her favorite bedtime story was that of Aladdin his magic lamp. Ellie had always been entertained by the concept of three wishes, and if you obeyed certain rules, you could get anything you want. She would often play game with her mother, asking what she would wish for. 

"Nothing. I have everything I could ever want with my family," is what she would say. Ellie would laugh, and say she had to wish for _something_. She would then ponder that thought, and joke, "Now, Elizabeth Wayne, I think I'd wish to know what _you_ were wishing for!"

Ellie would giggle, and tell her mother that wasn't a good wish, either. Why not wish for something like a pony or for Helena to quit taking up so much time in the bathroom or for Tommy to quit hitting her? Those were good wishes, and not really wastes. Because Tommy was mean, and Helena did spend too much time in the bathroom, trying to make herself look pretty for boys. Ellie knew this because that was all she would talk with Olivia whenever she was on the phone. Ellie never knew why Helena wanted to put on make-up for the boys, at that time, Ellie thought boys had cooties and must be avoided at all costs.

But that was a long time ago. Bedtime stories became just that, silly little bedtime stories. There wasn't any more pixie dust and the knight didn't always save the princess. Ellie no longer wished for a pony. Helena no longer used the bathroom for too long. She wasn't even here anymore. And Tom hadn't hit her, purposefully, in years. She no longer wished for the trivial things she did when she was a child.

All Ellie wanted was to have her family back.

She could still remember the morning her mother died. She was eleven, and in sixth grade, working on power point on the starfish. She was wearing her new sweater; the one her mother had bought her family went to Paris for Christmas vacation a couple of weeks prior. It had snowed the night before, and a fresh blanket still covered the ground. Gotham had never had snow days, so she, Helena, and Tom was forced to go to school. Miss Elliot, her science teacher, had lit a candle. Ellie could still remember the smell, cinnamon. She had always loved cinnamon. Now, whenever she smelled cinnamon, she got sick, and felt as if she'd vomit.

Ellie had just finished the slide about the starfish food chain, when the classroom phone rang, and Miss Elliot informed Ellie that she would be going home. Ellie hadn't been surprised. Sometimes her father would pick her up early from school, and take her out to eat ice cream, or go to the park. But it was too cold for those things. Maybe they would go to the Watchtower. She did end up going to the Watchtower, but it wasn't her father picking her up. Instead, it was a teary-eyed Dick, who brought her into a hug as soon as her saw her.

The rest of the day was a blur, full of hugs and words of sympathy, Helena sobbing in Rex's arms, and Tom staring blankly into the stars, his face white but eyes dry, and then…her father. Her father, the one who in an almost unbelieving whisper gasped the words, "You're mother…she's dead.", and then said nothing more to Ellie or her siblings after that. She'd heard an angry Dick scream at her father, saying that his children needed their father, and Bruce was being selfish and heartless for blocking them out. Barbara had pulled Dick away, saying that this was "Bruce's way of dealing with Diana's death on his own. He'll get over it."

They stayed the night on the Watchtower, in one of the extra rooms, used whenever Leaguers needed to rest. She had a nightmare that night. For years she had had chronic nightmares about being alone in a dark alley, and then being chased by Joker, no one hearing her cries for help. When she awoke, screaming for her mother, he mother didn't come. She had been the only one who could soothe her tears. Helena tried, rocking her in her arms, whispering what their mother would say, tears rolling down both of their faces. Tom tried to find their father, but it came to no avail. He was gone, disappeared into the Gotham night. Ellie, wrapped in her sister's arms, never felt more alone.

Things didn't get better. Their father threw himself into his work, bother Wayne Enterprises and as the Batman. Many times Ellie found herself staying at Infinity Tower, as Tom and Helena busied themselves working in Infinity Inc, which was dubbed by the media as 'The Team for the Second Generation'. It was their where Ellie found her form of occupational therapy, learning the ways of computers and technology from Rex Stewart, who gladly taught her anything he asked. She was good in her own right, and considered a technological genius by other heroes. It never gained her the attention she craved from her father. Ellie enjoyed working behind scenes at Infinity Tower, and considered the place a second home. She was surrounded by people, people who paid attention, people who loved her.

"Daddy doesn't love us anymore, does he? Not after Mama died, he doesn't," Ellie held whispered to Helena and Tom, after their father missed the family Thanksgiving dinner for a visit to Arkham, a little over a year after their mother died. Her sister grew angry, and Ellie thought that Helena had been mad at her at thinking it. Tom shrugged, and stalked away to his room, sitting in silence, staring at the untouched turkey and empty dinner table. Ellie was wrong. Helena wasn't mad at her though, as evidenced by the brutal verbal sparring match between Helena and their father when he returned. Ellie remembered lying in bed that night, their screams keeping her awake.

"You don't get it, do you? Ellie has not faith in you! I don't think Tom does either! Me…I don't know you anymore, Dad! You're never here!"

"I'm never here because I'm making sure that you and your brother and sister don't have to go through that again!" Her father's voice reverberated through the house. Even Ellie could see how illogical that sounded.

"That makes perfect sense, Dad! Absolutely brilliant! Of course only Batman could figure that one out!" Helena's sarcasm dripped heavily. "Make sure we don't have to go through losing another parent by never being one! Mom would be so proud!" Silence followed, and then heavy footsteps and the sound of slamming doors followed. Cocooning herself under her sheets, she silently prayed to whoever would listen for her mother to come back.

The next morning, they all ate breakfast in silence, from a combination of anger and fatigue from the night before. Surprisingly, her father broke the ice, announcing that they would be spending the next couple of days in London. He had a meeting associated with Wayne Enterprises, and decided that since he would be there, it would be a good time to take a much needed family vacation. For the first time since their mother died, Ellie truly smiled.

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**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated. Ask if you have any questions, and I'll try to answer them to the best of my abilities. Flames are welcome. Not preferred, but welcome. 


	2. Helena

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters of _Justice League Unlmited_. I do however own some claim to the original characters mentioned. 

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Title: **Sins of Thy Fathers  
**Chapter 2: **Helena Wayne  
**Author: **Gotham's Princess  
**Summary:** A series of vingettes about the children of the Justice League.  
**Rating:** K+/PG  
**Genre:** Drama/Angst  
**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"I bought a ring, you know…We're young, yeah, only twenty-one, but…I wouldn't have minded a long engagement. Maybe…I just wanted to say you were mine, and would be forever. Not that it matters now, does it? I loved you…I still do…We would've been something amazing, 'Lena."

Those words…Helena would hear Rex's final goodbye to her, to their relationship, for years. She never saw them as a regret, a "what-if", (though she did regret how it came to that), but as a ghost, haunting her for her sins. Sometimes, she felt as if she should be branded with a scarlet 'A', compensating for how she had hurt Rex. But whenever she thought those thought, Jack would take her in his arms, and tell her everything would be alright. Jack had been happy once Rex had found out, and Helena knew how hard he tried to hide his mirth around her now that Rex was out of the picture. Jack, in his mind had won the girl, and he had felt that he deserved to be happy. Helena had known she couldn't blame him for being so happy, she had been the one who brought it all upon herself.

Rex…sweet, always loving Rex Stewart. He had always been there for her. When her mother had died, he stepped back, and when Helena had felt ready for a relationship again, he had been there waiting. They had been a natural couple; everyone had said they'd be together forever. High school sweethearts would have been a perfect term to describe them. Her mother had given Helena her never-ending support, and even though her father never expressed it, Helena knew the man approved of Rex. And she threw it all away.

Helena could track when things first fell apart: She had been eighteen, and wanted to get away from Gotham. It held too many memories, of her mother, of how things used to be, so she decided to go to away, far away for college. It had been when Infinity Inc was called to deal with The Shark that she had fallen in love with Coast City, California. The Shark, a human/shark hybrid had been terrorizing the citizens on the beach, when they had arrived. He had been easy to deal with, and afterwards, the team of superhero teams had decided to stay and chill. Rex, and most of the team had decided to hang around on the beach, while she and Olivia had opted instead for a shopping spree. As Helena began to walk through the streets, she became used to the town. Something had felt different. While Olivia had complained about the roar of the planes, which belonged to the Air Force, which had a base a couple of miles south, Helena had enjoyed the noise. While Olivia toured the mall, Helena had managed to sneak out, and explore, finally finding her way to Coast City University, where she made an impromptu meeting with the dean.

Ellie wasn't anywhere near happy when Helena announced she was going the Coast City, instead of staying somewhere on the eastern seaboard. The younger Wayne daughter felt as if she was being abandoned. Tom, on the other hand, seemed perfectly okay with Helena's departure, and even asked if she would introduce him to 'hot surfer babes'. Her father was…different. He had eased up, and become more open in the past couple of months, but he still didn't seem to enjoy the direction Helena decided to take with her life. He relented…eventually, after a couple of heated 'debates' over the dinner table, with ended in either him or her storming away. Rex was disappointed, as well. Helena knew he had been secretly pulling for her to go to NYU, which was only a short drive from MIT, where he attended. But he once again took on the role of the loving, trusting boyfriend, and let her go with open arms. He even bought her a kitten named Chester when she moved into her penthouse apartment. And then she broke his heart.

Coast City proved to be a new start for her, and the eventual downfall to her relationship with Rex. She enjoyed her classes for the most part, and she made new friends. Helena remembered the night Jill, a Biology Major with untamable blonde hair, dragged her to the fraternity house where her boyfriend was a pledge, when they were having one of their famous parties. The night was easy to remember, it was the first time she met Jack.

Jack Jordan, the son of a former Air Force pilot, was leaning against the bar, laughing at some joke one of his friends made. He was wearing a old bomber jacket, which Helena would later find out belonged to his father, and then grandfather before him. When he saw her, he leisurely walked over to her, and grinned.

"Hey, I'm Jack Jordan and you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met," was his introduction. Helena had laughed. She had received many pickup lines in her life before, but the way he delivered it was different. But it didn't matter then, she had Rex, and she was happy.

It wasn't until a week later when she saw Jack again, and it was then when she realized he lived two floors down from her penthouse apartment. He asked her out again, and she told him no, again. Helena remembered warning him about Rex, and that she was blissfully in love. That had been three years ago. So much had changed in so little time.

Rex visited often, when they weren't off saving the world from some villain or another. He would always bring her a bouquet of roses, and then take her out to dinner. Then, they would return to her apartment and make love. Things were so simple back then.

Time passed, and she became more and more attached to Jack. He seemed to accept being friends with her. He had even taught her how to fly a plane. Helena remembered laughing at his invitation to teach her, because she knew how to fly and would never need to fly and plane or a jet. He countered that her mother flew an invisible jet. Helena had gone quiet after that. Tears had filled her eyes as memories of her mother resurfaced. Jack had then taken her into his arms, a brought her into a deep hug. It was then when Jack had revealed his own father had died in after being shot down in the Middle East when he was ten. That moment had cemented their friendship.

As things were on, Helena found herself having a stronger bond with Jack than she would with Rex. Rex, who she had been a couple with since she was sixteen, her first love, was falling out of her heart, and Jack was nudging his way in. She had tried so hard to deny it. It wasn't meant to be that way. She was in love with Rex, not Jack.

Then Jack kissed her. They had gone out to the movies with Jill, her newest boyfriend, Matt, and a group of friends. It had been raining outside that night, and they both had run out of the theater, soaked to the bone. Jack had insisted on walking her up to her apartment, and Helena had agreed. After all, what could possibly happen? Something did happen.

"I love you," he whispered, and crushed her mouth with his own.

She had kissed back, and both had fallen into her apartment. That night, she didn't think of Rex, and the five year anniversary they'd be celebrating in two months. She didn't even think of Rex when Chester rubbed against her and Jack's legs, and she Rex never came to her mind as they made love in her bedroom. All Helena could think about that night was Jack, and what he was doing to her and how he made her feel.

But the next morning, when the sun had risen, she was brought to grim reality of what had happened. She'd cheated on Rex, fallen into the arms of another man. She had cried, and Jack had drawn her into his arms, and no matter how many times she had screamed "I hate you" at him, he never let go.

"I'm going to fight for you," he had declared, before he left, his bomber jacket slung over his shoulder.

And thus began her tumultuous affair with Jack Jordan. Every time he kissed her, grabbed her hand, Helena had known that she was stabbing Rex in the back. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop. Maybe it was because Jack knew he was fighting for her heart, and Rex was alone in the dark. She could have told Rex, and maybe they would still be together, but she knew that thought was a lie. Somewhere along the way she had fallen in love with Jack Jordan. She had longed for her mother those days and nights, wished for guidance. But none came. Her mother was gone, dead, and even with Jack and Rex, she had never felt more alone. Helene would sometimes wonder if her mother would be disappointed in her. An affair certainly was certainly not truthful. But Helena had known since day one that she had had to make a decision, and when did she would have to live with it. And when Rex had walked away, and Jack had returned, a carefree smile on his face, Helena knew that despite the pain in her heart, she could move on.

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**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated. Ask if you have any questions, and I'll try to answer them to the best of my abilities. Flames are welcome. Not preferred, but welcome. 


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